Anglo-Saxon Britain

Thoughts on the Meonware

by David Slaughter, 2 March 2008

The earliest evidence of a Jutish presence in Hampshire dates
back to the sixth decade of the fifth century. At this stage Jutes
had already settled in the area.

Perhaps they might have been descendants of the foederati
(employed as mercenaries by the Roman state) who, for whatever
reason, had made their homes here. It also seems a possibility that
this early Jutish element might have been kin to the keel-loads of
warriors who landed with Hengist at the request of Vortigern in 449.

The decade 460-470 for the first Jutes in Hampshire would be
compatible with Romano-British policy at this time, a policy which
proved to be fatally flawed. During the 450s events moved at a
considerable pace. Indeed, the increasing numbers of Germanic
settlers arriving in Britain as a result of such ill-considered
action caused a civil war between Vortigern and his son, Vortiger,
because the young prince was at total odds with his father's policy.

This feud took place in spite of all the attacks inflicted on
the Britons by the Picts and Scotti. Considering the prevailing
conditions, Jutes might also have arrived as pirates, or as raiders,
some of whom might have established permanent communities, even
intermarrying with the local Britons. There would have been plenty
of opportunity when the Romano-British state was engaged in internal
strife.

However, these very early settlers were still living on
Romano-British soil. The territory was taken later, by right of
conquest, after the collapse of the Romano-British regime
established by the leadership of Ambrosius Aurelius (Welsh, Emrys
Eurben), during a period of British reversals. Undoubtedly, the
Germanic population, together with mixed race people and pro-German
Britons played a large part in weakening British resistance, the
question now is how did the later province of the Meonware come
about.

To understand who these people were, maybe it is necessary to
accept that there might have been a longstanding affinity between
Jute and Saxon. Such a relationship could have been strengthened in
adversity, when Ælle and Aesc were decisively defeated by the
Romano-British at Mount Badon.

The tide had turned against
the settlers, and if the bretwalda, Ælle, had had in mind a campaign
to advance westwards after his victorious year in 491, then the
triumph of the Romano-Britons at Badon would have brought a halt to
those ambitions. Some archaeologists have told us that there is
evidence in English pottery of the early sixth century, found in
Germany, to suggest a backwash of settlers returning from Britain.

This could have been because of a continuing Romano-British
resurgence down the upper and middle Thames Valley during the two
decades after Mount Badon. In other words the descendants of the
foederati, the new settlers and any pro-German or mixed race people
were now in disarray.

A group called the Gewisse (compare Old
English 'gewis' meaning certain and the cognate Welsh 'gwyddys'
meaning 'is known', in other words, those who are informed), reputed by Bede to
have come from this region, might have been pushed eastwards during
these years, losing the territory they had occupied. This crisis
could have precipitated a deepening of brotherhood between Saxon and
Jutish tribesmen, between the Gewisse and the Cantware in whose
kingdom the latter had potentially resettled, thus strengthening bonds already
forged under the leadership of the Bretwalda. A timetable of events
based on the idea that the Jutes, Saxons and kindred descendants of
the foederati, were stalwart brothers in arms, is given below.

Conjectural language timeline

Since they are
sometimes considered to have been Frisians, perhaps the fifth and
sixth century Jutes who settled in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
came from southern Jutland, rather than the northern part of the
peninsular.

King Canute based on a mediaeval illustration. One of England's
Danish kings, reigning 1016-1035. He was the son of Sweyn Forkbeard and Gunhild of
Poland. By 1028 he was king of Denmark, England, Norway, and was known as Canute the Wealthy.

Today, there are two forms of Danish spoken in Jutland.
They are referred to as North and South Jutlandish, and both belong
to the North Germanic branch. The latter is spoken in the districts
around the Danish-German frontier. However, South Jutlandish is
distinct from North Jutlandish because it contains elements of Low
German, which is a descendant of Old Saxon, and is a member of the
South Germanic branch.

The fifth and sixth century Jutes of
Hampshire probably spoke an ancestral form of South Jutlandish, if
they sailed from the coast just North of Flenberg. Therefore, if
they said their sentences slowly they would have been understood by
Old English speakers. The same conditions apply for Breton and
Cornish speakers today. This circumstance of mutually understood
languages is accepted by specialists of the period and, on this
assumption, a language timeline has been attempted and is shown
below.

For the exercise in question, our timeline has been based on
one generation for every thirty years and a notional longevity of
sixty
years. People of this era would not have reached sixty, except for
the higher echelons of society, a few or whom might have survived
beyond seventy. For instance, the first wave of Jutes might be said
to have belonged to the generation of 430-490, and that of their
children and the second wave of Jutes to the generation of 460-520. Thus we have a recurring overlap of a notional
thirty years.

Therefore
the dates for the period timeline below are both conjecture and
approximation. Consideration has also been given to the impact of
changing circumstances in a warrior society, like the decline of
West Saxon influence after the reign of King Ine, which might have
accelerated changes in language habit. The speech of the Jutes is
referred to as Old Jutlandish, a term coined here for
convenience.

King Hardicanute based on a mediaeval illustration. The last of
England's Danish kings, reigning 1040-1042. He was the only son of Canute and Emma of
Normandy. King of Denmark 1035-1042, he died of a fit while drinking at a wedding feast.